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What would you tell your future self? As team NB looks to what’s next, they reflect on their values, convictions and experiences through a letter to their future self, which reveals not only who they are, but also who they want to be.

DEFY GRAVITY: Meet the Man Who Has Made the World His Playground.

“Why?” This word is one of the first we learn as kids. It becomes our refrain throughout childhood as we ask it again and again, learning from those around us as we explore our world. It is the simplest question we can ask, yet perhaps the most profound. But as we grow up we begin to ask it less and less. We begin to follow the “rules.” We begin to accept the answer “because that’s just the way things are.”

One man who has never stopped questioning his reality is South African parkour athlete and professional stuntman, Kundai “Kenji” Murapa. Why go from point A to point B? Why be held down by gravity? Why walk when you can fly? The answers that Kenji received to questions like these never quite satisfied him. The rules always seemed boring to Kenji. So he made his own.

When others walk down the street, they see a sidewalk, a street lamp, a building (that is, if they even notice these things at all). Kenji, on the other hand, sees a launching pad, a pole vault, a jungle gym. For Kenji, the entire world is a playground.

In a constant state of flow, Kenji rides the wave of the present moment, always in tune with his surroundings. He moves through his environment as if he, and he alone, has found the portal to a new dimension. One where gravity no longer exists. One where you are only limited by your imagination. And Kenji’s imagination knows no bounds.

When we caught up with Kenji he offered these words: “you’re here to be your own, not just another clone.” Fearlessly independent in all that he does, Kenji inspires us to get out and move. To follow our own rules. To live life to the fullest.

Because why not.

Callum Hawkins

#teamnb

THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS
TO ANYWHERE WORTH GOING

Letter to my future self

Callum,

It's a simple sport, really.

For all the talk of high altitude and low oxygen, when it comes down to it, all that matters is hard graft and brutal, bloody-minded consistency.

Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.

No one knows this better than Callum Hawkins.

There’s no doubting his natural ability - trained from a young age by his father, the twenty-five-year-old’s meteoric rise to become Great Britain’s dominant presence on the roads is nothing short of astonishing.

But you’d be wrong to think it came easy.

Callum understands the secret between being merely a good runner and being a great one: Just keep putting in the miles. 120 a week, to be exact.

However gifted Callum might be, it’s hard work that took him to Rio.

It's brutal, bloody-minded determination that won him the fastest half-marathon time of any European ever on US soil.

And it’s this unbreakable spirit that will only carry him further.

If Callum’s career is a marathon, then it looks like he’s only just warming up.

HEATHER WATSON

Glory is an obsession, one that captivates your mind and rewires it to say ‘never stop’. For Heather Watson, this obsession started early. At only 7 years old she’d developed a passion for tennis and by the age of 12, she’d already changed her life to chase it, crossing thousands of miles of ocean to take a place at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida. There she pledged her teenage years to an intense and grueling training scheme. Playing on the same courts that Serena Williams and Andre Agassi called home, this prestigious academy has a habit of making stars and she’s no exception.

Now 24, she holds her own in the world's top female tennis rankings and boasts gold in the junior commonwealth games. She’s earnt 3 titles in the WTA tour, 5 titles in the ITA and won doubles at Wimbledon.

When you’ve crossed the world for a career, played under pressure, batted through sickness, trained all days and all hours to achieve what she’s achieved, you don’t stop now.

Fast Food to Fast Times: Boris Berian's Rise to the Top

Despite being one of the top 800m runners in the world, 2016 Olympian and World Champion, Boris Berian’s place in the track and field world wasn’t always as clear as it is today. Just three years ago, training alone and flipping burgers part-time in his hometown of Colorado Springs, Boris struggled to unlock the potential he knew he had.

Luckily for him, he wasn’t the only one who recognized his potential.

At the same time, out in Big Bear Lake, California, Olympian and World Bronze Medalist Brenda Martinez and her husband, Carlos Handler, had just founded the Big Bear Track Club, to provide opportunities for middle distance runners to pursue their potential in the sport. Brenda and Carlos were actively recruiting their first group of fiercely dedicated athletes when they began tracking Boris through race results.

“I had seen Boris’ 800m times, but his 400m time is what really stood out to me,” says Handler. “I remember thinking, ‘Man, this kid could be running so much faster.’ So I reached out and said I’d love to have him come out to Big Bear and join the team.”
After an hour-long phone conversation about training and the new team, Boris accepted Carlos’ invitation to join Big Bear Track Club and began making arrangements.

“Carlos bought me a plane ticket to come check out the club and I’ve been here ever since,” says Boris. “I love training in Big Bear because it’s a small village with no distractions. I can really focus on my training here.”

With the benefits of having a coach, teammates and resources now built into his training plan, Boris logged months of solid training. When the 2015 outdoor track season came around, Boris was ready to show everyone how fast he could really run. And it didn’t take him long to do it.

Berian showed strength and speed in his opening races, but he reached a new level at the IAAF Diamond League meet in New York City when he dipped under 1:44 in the 800, clocking 1:43:84. At that moment, he found himself near the top of the world 800m rankings.

“To be honest, we weren’t surprised by his race in New York,” says Carlos. “We both saw the workouts he was doing, so we knew that he could run that fast. We knew the potential was there.”

Boris went on to run sub-1:44 again in Monaco, solidifying his place as one of the top 800m runners in the world. Following his monster debut on the professional circuit, he returned to Big Bear more motivated than ever.

In 2016, Boris showed no signs of slowing down. Not only did he win the 800m at the World Indoor Championships, he won it his way – leading immediately from the gun. His momentum continued into outdoor track, where he nabbed a second place finish at the U.S. Championships.

With his momentum more powerful than it’s ever been, Boris looks ahead to the 2017 season hungry and eager to continue lowering his personal best and climbing the world rankings.